Friday, May 1, 2009

Janet and the Mysterious Creature

Challenge: Write a story (beginning, middle & end) that is 100 words or less.
Rule #1 = The story must begin with this line: "Janet didn't like him."
Rule #2 = The story must end with this line: "As the creature lifted into the dark sky, she could see it dangling from his talons." (No, your story does not have to include a monkey, as pictured to the left. Thinking outside the box is encouraged.)
BONUS ENTRIES: You can increase your chances of winning by posting about this contest on your blog or on your facebook page--or even on Twitter. Simply leave a comment with a link to your post/comment/tweet, and your name will get tossed in the hat a second time. (NOTE: You have to enter the contest in order to also get bonus points.)
WINNING: #1 - Best story gets a signed copy of The Dust of 100 Dogs and a VOG. (Very Odd Gift)
#2 - The runners up will then be tossed into a hat (with bonus point entries) and two more winners will be picked.

First pick = A signed copy of The Dust of 100 Dogs and a VOG.

Second pick = A VOG Care Package.

Winners will be chosen by magic wand and a point guard from an unnamed Eastern European basketball team.
How to Enter: Leave you answer and an email address in the comment trail.
Deadline: *Monday May 4th, 11:59pm EDT.* (Changed from Sunday) You only have three days to play!

Janet didn't like him. His behavior was stupid and reckless and was only going to result in trouble. There was a reason shape-shifting magic was forbidden to students.

But now she couldn't help but watch. Watch as feathers burst through the skin, arms became wings and mouth became a beak. The transformation wasn't complete, although she could see that his mind was no longer human. His – its – yellow eyes were wild, looking around in panic, still clutching the talisman that had transformed it.

As the creature lifted into the dark sky, she could see it dangling from his talons.And there's my drabble. :) My email is catherine[at]amynta[dot]org

Now to tweet and post a link to this contest over at On The Nightstand. :)

Janet didn't like him. He was always teasing her, calling her names, and just being mean. Why did he have to be that way? Her mom said it was because he was sweet on her. Ugh, who talks like that?

She wanted to change him, literally, but mom warned her about using her powers to amuse herself. Who would it hurt? She would be doing herself and others a favor. But what to change him into? A rat; that's what he reminded her of.

As the creature lifted into the dark sky, she could see it dangling from his talons.

Janet didn’t like him. She wasn’t sure why, it was that type of irrational dislike that gave no answers until it revealed itself. So for the time being all she could do was sit and watch. Her silent appeals to the Gods for answers had come up with nothing.

So Janet focused her attention on the scene at hand; the stranger from the North and his fantastic creatures. He was showing the King one of them, a strange creature Janet had never seen before.

As the creature lifted into the dark sky, she could see it dangling from his talons.

Email: heather[@]artisticchardon.com and tweeted about it here; http://twitter.com/jadedlioness

Janet didn't like him. He didn’t have a sense of humor. Worse still, he had reviewed her favorite book, and panned it. When Janet complained, he said, “I’m here to save the youth from reading filth!” Janet lifted her napkin, dabbed her mouth lightly, and stood up. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I can’t date someone who’s into censorship.” Just then, he turned into a large, ugly vulture and spread his wings. This was when Janet realized that the book was missing from her purse. As the creature lifted into the dark sky, she could see it dangling from his talons.

Janet didn’t like him. Every mother is supposed to love her child, and she did. But, she didn’t like him. The wet, loud creature that wailed at every indignity – wetness, naps, the slightest delay in the arrival of food – was the very reason that she no longer enjoyed living her life.

The monster claimed that Janet’s son would be revered in her world. The baby was laid in the harpy’s arms, but gripped his mother’s necklace desperately in an effort to remain near her.

As the creature lifted into the dark sky, she could see it dangling from his talons.

Janet didn’t like him from the second he joined her on the café patio, but now she was stuck with him. Too polite to bolt, Janet ordered a martini, figuring she may as well be drunk.“Nice. Freaking. Toupee,” Janet thought. She sipped as he droned on about his Mercedes, his Rolex, his mountains of cash stashed offshore. Pretentious douche.Out of nowhere, a red-tailed hawk appeared in the sky and swooped towards the heinous hairpiece perched atop the man across from her.As the creature lifted into the dark sky, she could see it dangling from his talons.

Janet didn't like him. He was a know-it-all, and a prude on top of it. “I think kids holding hands in public is simply disgusting!” he said, as they strolled through Rittenhouse Square late on a Friday night. “But they’re only holding hands,” Janet said. “Yes, it starts there, but by the end of the night…” Just as he said that, Janet mentally called her dragon, Morty, who swooped in and picked the witless date up. “I knew it was a toupee,” she thought. As the creature lifted into the dark sky, she could see it dangling from his talons.

Janet didn't like him. He smoked cheroots, smacked his lips, and had once written a vitriolic blog denying the existence of were-octopi.

Plus, he smelled like rum--dangerous for a dragon. Everyone *knows* drinking rum with a throat full of fire is just plain stupid.

Imagine Janet's surprise when, after receving irrevocable proof of a were-spider's existence in her downstairs bathroom, one rum-swilling, cheroot-smoking, lip-smacking dragon swooped to her aid-snatching up the nasty were-spider. As the creature lifted into the dark sky, she could see it dangling from his talons.

Janet didn’t like him. Actually she did, but the fact that when she looked into his electric, ice blue eyes, she saw danger. Noir had captured her heart. She never told him how she felt for fear she would be killed. But knowing he was being exiled gave her courage to confess her love. Janet and Noir stood at the top of the mountain. Noir’s griffin was ready for take-off. Janet cried, “A token. Don’t forget me”. Noir nodded, never showing his true feelings. As the creature lifted into the dark sky, she could see it dangling from his talons.

That is my little tale :)my e-mail is azshannon@msn.comI facebooked this contest as wellFun contest by a super cool author!http://dogfact9.blogspot.com/2009/05/janet-and-mysterious-creature.html

Janet didn’t like him. His eyes were onyx black with a red iris. He didn’t blink as he locked eyes with her. She felt the shiver building in her toes. As it exploded from her body she knew this was her deathrider. Janet wasn’t ready to leave. She started screaming and realized that it wasn’t happening in her head. Everyone, in the park, was looking at her. He was invisible. He started running toward her and that’s when she saw the winged creature. As the creature lifted into the dark sky, she could see it dangling from his talons.

Janet didn’t like him. It started the first day of her clown job when Bart said, “You’re not funny.”

To prove him wrong, she stuck carrots in her ears and did cartwheels, but no one laughed. Maybe he was right. She had to find something humorous, so she wandered throughout the circus grounds looking for ways to please the crowd.

A ferocious, flying creature slept in the striped tent, so she gave it Bart’s monogrammed whitey-tighties. The next morning, she spotted Bart’s underwear. As the creature lifted into the dark sky, she could see it dangling from his talons.

Janet didn't like him. But not many people liked Satan. It was something he lived with, that and the smell of sulphur that had penetrated into his skin eons ago, the faint must of rotten eggs lingering in an apartment hours after he departed, damned soul in hand.

But Janet. He felt somewhere within her an ambiguity, a less-than perfect ideological stance defined by her Goth make-up and Anarchy tattoos. Perhaps. He had taken the soul of her coke addict roommate the week before. As the creature lifted into the dark sky, she could see it dangling from his talons.

Janet didn't like him. He was smirking and still naked. Sitting there under the willow tree, smiling, he thought he had her now. Well, he’d had her, but he would never own her. How little he knew. She lifted her face to the breeze and whispered “now.”

Soon then there she was, Janet’s only true companion, hovering and ready. And in one graceful, achingly beautiful moment, she removed the smug smile from his face… literally. Janet, content, blew a kiss to her and as the creature lifted into the dark sky, she could see it dangling from his talons.

He was chubby, red-faced, and bald. Not at all like the darling baby sister she’d expected.

When informed of his birth, she’d thrown the phone across the room. She’d also taken to calling him “the creature,” which gravely concerned her parents.

He was highly destructive, but Mommy always picked him up and explained he didn’t know any better. At the moment, Janet’s favorite doll was within his reach, surely headed toward his vomitous mouth. She lunged, but was too late.

As the creature lifted into the dark sky, she could see it dangling from his talons.

*****************emausten (at) aol (dot) comAnd I posted about this on Twitter (http://twitter.com/lizencarn) and on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=764018277&ref=nf).

Janet didn’t like him. But how could she after what happened that day.

Janet unknowingly boarded the killer at 1026 N. Beckley Street. She last saw him at 1:03 or 1:04 PM that tragic day which is still discussed in college classrooms, on History shows and conspiracy theorists websites and message boards today.

Her own kindness is what unintentionally assisted in the loss of one of America’s favorite sons. On this day it wasn’t the Eagle carrying Liberty, it was the Zhar-Ptitsa taking Liberty. As the creature lifted into the dark sky, she could see it dangling from his talons.

Janet didn't like him. She didn't like his lengthy manuscripts about the mysterious doings of ordinary household appliances either. She watched him cross the garden terrace clutching his “great novel” as a Nun might grasp her Rosary when passing an Adult Book Store.Luckily, she had brought protection. As the hopeful author rushed toward her with hands outstretched and mouth open, she signaled delicately at a nearby Oak tree.Priscilla, her loyal falcon-protector, swooped down and snatched the manuscript from the frightened Yahoo’s hands. As the creature lifted into the dark sky, she could see it dangling from her talons.

In honor (hopefully she'll see it as such) of www.twitter.com/Janet_Reid who twittered about this contest.This was very fun. Thank you. I do hope the VOG is an inkpen from the Hilton. Never can have too many you know, ;)

Janet didn’t like him. She reminded herself of that as she blinked into the sun’s glare. She was finished crying over men like Rodrigo—all sex and no sense, and utterly ill-equipped to beard the Weaselcott in its lair—but there wasn’t much she could do about that now.

She certainly wasn’t going to sleep with him again. Like the others, however, he’d been trying to impress her, so she sighed and drew her Glock, awaiting sight of his lifeless form.

Another day’s work.

As the creature lifted into the dark sky, she could see it dangling from his talons.I Twittered. I suck at Twitter, so my username is Mags_nificent, and I did it around 11:20pm today. Hopefully that's cool enough, because if I ever win a prize, I'd like it to be a "Very Odd Gift."

Janet didn’t like him. This so called hero who was supposed to protect her was worthless as they got. Mike was incapable of getting himself out of the cave much less help her. And when Janet had to turn around to help hoist HIM up she knew that she can only reply on herself and her bodyguard was on his own.The mouth of the cave approached their line of vision but the deafening screeching of the raptor behind was approaching even faster. Janet ran. Quickly leaping past rocks, shoulders grazing walls and feet tripping and stumbling her escape. Just as the screech neared she lunged forward gripping air and hoping the cave didn’t drop. She looked up and as the creature lifted into the dark sky, she could see it dangling from his talons.

My entry: Janet didn't like him. Her annoying little wizard brother, Jeremy. They lived in a small town in Colorado. Usually witches and wizards try not to draw attention to themselves. "This time, Jeremy has gone too far!" Janet thought. Her black cat jumped back nervously.

There the creature stood with it's colossal feet. It had silky feathers and a sharp beak. Jeremy had cast a spell to conjure up this hideous creature. It flapped it gigantic wings and flew down, heading straight for Janet's black cat. As the creature lifted into the dark sky, she could see it dangling from his talons.

Janet didn't like him. He rolled and twisted, tried to push his tongue into her mouth. His hands wandered like soldiers, off to conquer the wasteland of her waistband, and sometimes Janet closed her eyes and wished terrible things.

She wished for lightning to strike, and that her sneakers would ground her alone. She wished for earthquakes and sinkholes, but it never occurred to her- until wide wings cast feathered shadows across their faces, to wish Harpyhaliaetus coronatus on him. Farewell, bad boyfriend thing!

As the creature lifted into the dark sky, she could see it dangling from his talons.

Janet didn't like him. The beat-up Volkswagon was a lemon of a car, right down to the sickly green color it had been in a previous life, which didn't exactly make up for the car's demands to drive him at a crawl. Janet had issues with this stipulation, given her tendency to always be late. As she tried in vain to propel her sandal-clad feet toward the school faster, Janet heard a creaking that sounded suspiciously like that dud of a car and turned. As the creature lifted into the dark sky, she could see it dangling from his talons.

Janet didn't like him. He was rude and smelled like cheese. And he’d told her the most outlandish story about full moons and lycanthropic monsters and how “dangerous” he was. She’d had it up to here with bad boys, so she walked out into the night.

A raccoon darted across the alley in front of her, then stopped short, clutched by an impossible figure that might once have been human, his back humping out into leathery wings. Bad boys--hmph, she thought to herself.

As the creature lifted into the dark sky, she could see it dangling from his talons.My e-mail address is aquafortis (at) gmail (dot) com. Will twitter shortly at http://twitter.com/aquafortis

Janet didn’t like him, or rather, she didn’t like the idea of him. He didn’t belong here, but he had his uses.

Like tonight when she had found herself with a very “ex” ex-partner. The police would not believe her story - how could they? She didn’t.

So she ignored the distaste he engendered in her and asked for help. He agreed wordlessly as she had known he would. Janet didn’t care what he did with the body. And now, as the creature lifted into the dark sky, she could see it dangling from his talons.

Janet didn't like him. Her dog would run outside and come back in when he finished doing his business, except he would run outside and come back in, and do his business right on her carpets. She didn’t know what to do with him. She went hiking and brought him along to teach him how to do his business outside. Instead, he started chasing a rabbit. Then, an eagle came swooping down. The rabbit was gone. She looked up. As the creature lifted into the dark sky, she could see it dangling from his talons.

It was a lot harder than I thought it would be to keep it under 100 words. I had to delete a lot.

Janet didn't like him. Okay, Janet hated him. She used to be quite fond of her brother, however, once he learned to talk it all went downhill. He liked to pound on her door at 6 am on Saturdays (when it was still dark out), and once she answered, he would say “good morning!” in a fake-cheery voice.

One Saturday Janet dragged him by the arm to the backyard. Out of nowhere a huge, black bird came by and bit her brothers hand off. As the creature lifted into the dark sky, she could see it dangling from his talons.

Janet didn’t like him. He spoke funny, saying things like Dash it all and he insisted on carrying her books and opening doors, as if she couldn’t handle things like that on her own. It was flattering and irritating all at the same time. But tonight, as he threw his coat around her shoulders, she pressed her locket into his hand and kissed him on the cheek before he turned away. Glancing over his shoulder, he transformed before her eyes into a feathered beast. As the creature lifted into the dark sky, she could see it dangling from his talons.

Janet didn’t like him. But then, she didn’t have Stockholm syndrome, so not liking him was completely reasonable. After hours of bargaining, the police still hadn’t convinced the robber to release the hostages. The calm she had maintained through most of the ordeal was shattered when her captor pulled a gun and pointed it at an old woman. Her eyes flashed red as she summoned a demon, which crashed through the window a second later and ripped the villainous man’s soul out.As the creature lifted into the dark sky, she could see it dangling from his talons.

According to my word count, it's 98 words long.Sorry there's no email, but I don't post my email where everyone can see it.

I've been tied up with grading, and I completely forgot to post this last night! Okay if I'm DQ'ed. Just wanted to play!

Janet didn’t like him. He was callous, greasy, and his breath stunk like cologne. She wondered if he actually drank the stuff. But she was a professional florist, so she stood in the garden as he pointed to this corner and that trellis directing her. She smiled and nodded, trying to hear his words over the insults she shouted at him in her head. He flashed a diamond. “She hasn’t seen it yet,” he said then swatted at a bird swooping through the yard. As the creature lifted into the dark sky, she could see it dangling from his talons.

Everybody Sees the Ants

Available now!

About Me

I'm a writer. Still Life With Tornado is out now and people seem to dig it so far. I Crawl Through It is surrealist glee. Glory O'Brien's History of the Future won the Walden Award. Reality Boy was a NYTBR Editor's Choice. Ask the Passengers won the 2012 Los Angeles Times Book Prize. Everybody Sees the Ants was a 2012 ALA Top Ten pick and an Andre Norton Award finalist. Please Ignore Vera Dietz was a 2011 Michael L. Printz Honor Book, and an Edgar Award nominee. The Dust of 100 Dogs was an ALA Best Books for Young Adults, and Cybils finalist. A new YA book is coming in 2018. I also write Middle Grade fiction under the name Amy Sarig King. I don't discuss politics or religion. I just write books. And I like corn.